Anyone experienced "late Christmas magic"?

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seeking_wonder

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This is a request for others' magical moments rather than one of my own to report.

The last two Christmases have been pretty disappointing. The central problem has been that due to deeply intertwined physical and mental health issues, my life has been barely acceptable year-round. While I've hoped for Christmas to provide a respite/escape from this, it has either been the case that I'm not "ready for" Christmas until sometime after the season is over, when nobody else wants to celebrate--or even when that's not the case, I've grown so distant from others that having someone know well enough what I need to be happy to be able to get me meaningful gifts has become impossible. The issue is not financial in any way--I've certainly received things of significant value, but they were things I needed to buy anyway, and not inspirational in the way I associate with Christmas (which things can be inexpensive or even free...). And when most of the year has felt as comfortable as a bed of nails, it's kind of hard to flip a switch and feel joyful and cozy at Christmas.

For next Christmas I'm going to do things differently--in particular I will take more of my own responsibility to set aside things to open on Christmas that I see at other times of the year. I also will make sure to have at least something I can ask for. And of course I will keep working on getting healthier. But I'm still open to the possibility that Christmas will "happen late" this season--as since I said sometimes I'm out of sync and need to do things "on my own time". It would be helpful though to receive some inspiration from others for whom this may have happened.

Has anyone, after having a lousy time during the conventional Christmas season, had a moment of "Christmas magic" that came later and made up for it, like in January, February, or even March? Something that surprised you--whether it was a book you saw by chance in a bookstore somewhere that introduced you to a new subject you felt was made for you all along, or a recommendation from someone to go somewhere where you discovered something you never knew existed, or even a Christmas gift that felt pointless when you received it leading you somehow on the path to fixing a problem whose solution had eluded you for many years? A moment that at the same time felt comfortably familiar and also reawakening, such that after it was over you felt a sense of closure around the holidays and could move on in a way you couldn't have anticipated during the holidays themselves?
 

MrsSoup

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Let me think on this. I really appreciate what you are saying here and do believe that this can and has happened. Sometimes the "magic" of Christmas, is that it comes when it is needed, if that makes sense. Being a military family, we often had to celebrate holidays at other times than the traditional day due to deployments and such, so we had to learn that "days" on a calendar didn't always mean as much as when the actual magic happened for YOU. I hope the meaning I am trying to convey came across in that. It's hard to explain in writing and trying to condense it down at 5 a.m. LOL
 

AnnieClaus

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I often feel more of the Christmas spirit in the first couple weeks of January.
Leading up to Christmas can be so busy that it's hard to STOP and relish the magic of Christmas.
After the holiday is when I really cherish the quiet moments of sipping coffee and gazing at the tree.
That's when my heart expands and I FEEL Christmas.

Also, participating in this group helps me feel the Christmas spirit all through the year.
I often feel December is for the whole world to celebrate Christmas. Here, at MHH, the rest of the year is for our special group.

Annie
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Also, participating in this group helps me feel the Christmas spirit all through the year.
I often feel December is for the whole world to celebrate Christmas. Here, at MHH, the rest of the year is for our special group.
I so relate to this. We do celebrate all year, little milestones and wins, just sharing our thoughts and feelings with others.

I welcome you to our wonderful small group and hope that along the way the magic that you are seeking finds you.
 

MinnieCo

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I think that's why many of us also celebrate Christmas in July. We all love christmas, but lets be honest, there are alot of expectations. When we celebrate Christmas in July we make our own expectations and can just enjoy the moment and not worry about all the other STUFF. I enjoy Christmas all year around becuase it's just alot to shove into 4 weeks. In recent years people are open about extending the holiday season, but it wasn't like that when I first joined this group. We all loved Christmas and planned year around, but we were definitely the minority. I'm a crafter and finding time to craft during the holiday season seams almost impossible for me, so I craft Christmas when I feel like it. I make Christmas cards, when I feel like it. People around me are just use to it now and don't think anything about it. It really is just part of who I am now. People have hobbies...Christmas is one of my hobbies.
 

Lori K

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Love that you started this thread. I "lost" Christmas in 2014. That year, the first Christmas without my DH, was devistating to me, not only because DH wasn't there, but because it really hit home that I was "alone." Yes, DD and DSIL made it a point to be there for me and made Christmas extra special that year. But I was still "alone." As my grief lifted more and more over the next few years, I came to realize that the Christmas I create is for me and only me. The decorations I put up, the tree I decorate, the music in my home, the programs and movies I select, the smells I create when cooking and baking -- I am doing it for me, as it helps me through the holidays. Once I recognized that, I regained my Christmas spirit. Some years, my tree and decor is over the top; some years I just cannot do it all, so I opt for something more streamlined. But, it's still what I enjoy and what I select. One year, rock 'n roll Christmas is playing, other years it's Sinatra and Bing. It is what you want it to be. And, for the record, this past Christmas, the only cards that got mailed were to a handful of close friends and family. I suspect that 90% of my Christmas card list didn't even notice. Not one called or texted to ask if I was OK. My Christmas card list just got a lot shorter.
 

sweetpumkinpye

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..Christmas is one of my hobbies.
This is so right. I tell people that I have 2 jobs, my paid job where I go to the office and my Christmas job where I get paid with love, joy and satisfaction of a job well done.
 

Ahorsesoul

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Lori, you are so right about being the one who creates the Christmas spirit for you. I now do Christmas for me and do not expect others to create it. I have a wide range of what I want because sometimes I do not have the energy to decorate a lot. My least is to get my tree up. It is has lights on each section. Once hooked together and plugged in the lights come on. Some years that is all I can manage. No one complains and just the lights make me happy. If I do more it is just extra for me.

I am not a person who requires Christmas (or any holiday )to be on the actual date. Christmas is on the day I celebrate it even if it is weeks before or after the 25th. That is the real Christmas spirit it is not on a certain date. Christmas is season not a date. This year we had our Christmas a week before the 25th so during Christmas week I was putting my feet up and enjoying listening to people who were not even ready for their celebration running around like wild people. I was planning how I was going to be taking down the decorations.
 

seeking_wonder

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It's good to see others who wish for the same thing.

However, nothing that anyone has described here yet has the "serendipity aspect" that I was going for. To me, when I think back to when I was a kid and my favorite Christmas presents, they were either A) something I didn't even know existed until I got it, or B) something that I knew about and wished for, but that inspired me to play in new ways once I opened it. In other words, it feels like Christmas when something turns over a new leaf--and when it's something I almost can't have pre-existing expectations about because it's far enough outside the "rut" I live in otherwise. That to me is the difference between something I hope to get or do at Christmas and something I hope to do/get at other times of the year, for instance on my birthday (in late March). In spring and summer, my "seasonal mental clock" tells me I should already be in the swing of things and making progress on something that's already existing in my life, rather than splitting and going off in completely new directions.

The problem with finding that thing that inspires you to turn over a brand new leaf is that in some sense something external has to prompt it. I can't think of it in a vacuum because then it's coming from that same "rutted" thought process that I'm relying on Christmas to get me OUT of. That requires either that there are other people who know you well enough to spontaneously introduce you to stuff, or you have to start asking/looking around long before you are relying on it to materialize. That's what I will do this coming year for next Christmas--and what I WOULD have done last year had I foreseen things turning out this way. This colleague of mine went around the last week before our holiday break asking for music recommendations--I would have done the same seeking new hobby recommendations, back in October and early November. In fact I've already set a computerized reminder for me to do this next year on November 1st, if I haven't yet done so.

The way it was, I got several gifts that I needed (including a big one--a new laptop to replace my old one that was breaking, which I picked out and split the cost three ways with my mom and dad), but nothing that led me in any new directions. Now saving a considerable about of money on these things meant that I have a significant "budget" to buy other things that COULD start new hobbies, but then I knew if I wanted to have any while the Christmas season was still going on, I felt under pressure to find them, and had nobody at that point to ask for suggestions. I ended up going by a bookstore and seeing a book, that reminded me of another I thought I had but didn't. I will probably be buying that other book, but again, this all feels like too little too late. There have been little things that happened--like although most parts of trying to move stuff to my new computer was quite a headache, when I reinstalled a game I'd had on my old machine, I found that it now came with a series of new levels that I hadn't played before. This, along with the book in the bookstore reminding me of that other book, are examples of this serendipity I was getting at.

Starting this thread though, I was asking for bigger, more "miraculous"-feeling examples of this serendipity--examples that truly make it feel like the universe has made something align so you can find a new direction in your life, and that also happen in winter. Hearing that it's happened to others would make it easier to have the patience and openness to let it happen to you. It can be anything like this--a book find, a new place discovered, a suggestion that sent you on a new track--anything along those lines.

The other part of Christmas for me, aside from this serendipity aspect, is the idea that there are other people who also feel like celebrating. Now THAT part of it, it seems like I have already found here. If I do find that serendipity sometime later this winter, and I feel like celebrating, it feels like there are others here who will also be in the mood. It also feels like if I need hobby recommendations next Fall to determine what to get for next Christmas, that people here will want to help.
 
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Lori K

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This additional info is helpful, though again, I believe it all begins within. The motivation to celebrate the way you want has to be internal. I think you've got a start on it by setting electronic reminders and making note of things you enjoyed, things that worked that you want to remember to do again, etc. Here, you'll find links to various plans that include reminders of things to think about as you prepare for the holidays and wrap up post-holiday tasks.

This site has members that post a monthly Rudolph Day list of holiday-related reading, ideas, music, etc. to keep the spirit of Christmas going all year long. You may find inspiration from those posts. Rudolph Day is the 25th of each month. Look for the posts to appear around the 10th of each month, so there's plenty of time to get articles, books, movies, etc., for whatever you want to enoy on Rudolph Day. Rudolph Day posts have their own section on the site, https://magicalholidayhome.com/forum/index.php?forums/rudolph-day.120/, and you may want to visit that page and look at some of the past threads.

As far as hobbies, I took up crochet again last August (after nearly 50 years). It was a mother/daughter gift experience for my DD's 40th birthday. She'd always wanted to learn to crochet from my mom, but distance and my mom's health have prevented it from happening. Our instructor gave us a piece of advice as Christmas was quickly approaching. If you're planning to "gift" your project, you want work on it in the opposite season. That is, don't begin Christmas crafting in November. Instead, work on Christmas gifts over the summer and your Spring and Summer crafts in December. Otherwise you'll be so stressed that your stitiches will become so tight that you can't work the project. You'll rip out and re-do more than you would without the added "deadline" stress.

Perhaps start looking for craft / hobby inspiration now, looking for what gets your juices flowing, and try them out now, so you're ready to work on Christmas gifts this summer. Do you enjoy needlework, like cross-stitch, knitting, crocheting, etc.? Baking and cooking, where you could perfect your recipes during the year? Canning and preserving? Painting (perhaps try a new medium)? Start exploring and trying new things to find a groove that meets your need and spirit.

Hope this helps!
 
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AnnieClaus

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I have had serendipitous moments happen and I'll think, "Hah, that's a Christmas moment! That's a I feel like a kid at Christmas moment."
They can happen at all times of the year, not a particular season.
I try to notice those times. Life is so busy. There are probably many serendipity moments that happen but we are too busy to notice them.
It seems you are on a path to notice those moments and take advantage.
And, I think too, sometimes those moments are not a big, rock falling on your head thing. It can be a quiet things as well.
Like for you, noticing a book that could spark a new hobby interest.
I look forward to hearing more about your journey and your serendipity moments that are coming your way.
I will keep my heart open for mine as well.

Annie
 
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missjane

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What I think I understand that you’re saying is the magic of Christmas has been lost to you because the gift of surprise is gone. I was thinking similarly about this recently, not for myself, but about Christmas in general, in relation to gift giving.

I feel there’s a price to prosperity in the United States (probably in other countries as well, but I can only speak to my own experience). We no longer go agonizingly without things. We no longer long for things. We no longer stop and stare at the things in the window we can’t afford or know we’ll never have. So often, people buy whatever they want with no sacrifice that goes along with it. People used to sit and talk about how they wish they could have this or that. We no longer stop, pick up something, look at it, touch it, feel it, and put it back. No daydreaming of, “If I can ever afford…” Well, obviously, there are things that aren’t within our reach financially for many of us, but I was thinking of my grandmother recently. She didn’t have a lot of “things,” but she was content. She had what she needed, and she was satisfied with that. We’re a generation that picks up some little extra something we see we want almost every time we go to the store.

I feel people are often searching for the “perfect” gift for someone, but due to prosperity, we have so much that the simple things that would once have brought us delight aren’t received with delight anymore. I think people actually fear giving someone a gift that one may view as inferior. That our having so much that people can’t think of one thing we’re without, has brought us to this point, honestly, is sad to me.

My family was not destitute, but extra money was not a luxury when I was growing up. Clothes were almost always bought by putting them on layaway – and it wasn’t a lot of clothes, one or two outfits a couple of times a year. My grandmother or mother made most of our other clothes. I remember my mom saying that once bills were paid, they often had only $5-10 dollars for groceries. There was a local family owned grocery store that let groceries be charged. When my dad received a little extra money from his job, Mama would pay off part of the grocery bill as she could. So, Christmas was a big deal. We didn’t get things all year long. When we went to the store, only the necessary things were purchased.

My own grandchildren had a hard time thinking about what they wanted for Christmas last year, because there’s nothing, within reason, that they are without. We adults are the same way. Our family has begun making a list of things we’d like to have, and we share it with everyone near Christmastime. We never get everything on the list, but it does give others a general idea about what we’d like to receive. We make a point to try and pay attention to what other people mention, in passing, about things they like, hobbies they enjoy, sports teams they like, things they may collect, etc.

Along the lines of prosperity, there's also the fact that we have filled our lives with so many activities and general busyness that taking the time to truly shop, searching with thoughtfulness for something we think would be the perfect gift seems too time consuming, due to the fact that we have so much on our plates - often at our own choosing. We sit in a doctor's office or the pick-up line, point and click online at what we want to order and have it delivered to our house. It's become very impersonal and sterile. So, what you're saying about the lack of surprise does exist. We've become a lazy society when it comes to gift buying. And, we've become a lazy society about listening to the needs/wants of others, IMHO, when it comes to gift buying. Everyone who's a regular on here knows I hate giving GCs at Christmas, but it's become the go-to for many. Again, an attestation to prosperity - having so much that they really don't need anything, so they hold onto the GC until they come across something they don't have that they do want.

As for myself, if I see or think of something, in particular, that I’d appreciate as a gift, I write it in my planner. Then, if someone asks what I’d like to receive on a special occasion, I have a resource to use to say, “You know, I saw….whatever it was." When I’m put on the spot, my mind seems to leave me and I can’t think of a thing to tell them, but if I’ve written it down, I have a resource to use. That’s what I always tell my children and grandchildren, too. Write things down as you think of them!

To me, I would rather buy something I know they won’t justify buying for themselves. For instance, our DD25 wanted a perfume that was $100 for a small bottle. I knew she would never buy it for herself, so that was part of her Christmas. As you said, it may be something that doesn’t even cost anything – it’s free – but the thought that someone would like to gift it to me is what makes it special.

I noticed that you said you distance yourself from the people who would be buying for you. It’s hard to know what a person’s wants/desires are if you can’t spend time with them. No judgement. Just an honest observation. So, maybe, even if you can’t spend much time with them due to emotional or health issues, you can try to verbally express what you like, things that bring you joy, things that would make you feel special and valued. If someone does ask, don’t be afraid to give them hints to help point them in the direction of finding that “perfect” gift. Also, feel justified in getting and seeking out those things that do bring you that spark of Christmas joy you need, no matter the time of year, when you have the chance. I think you’re making a good start just by beginning to determine how you can make changes for this year. What do they say the first step to solving a problem is? Recognizing there is one? You’ve taken that first step. I look forward to your sharing your journey with us as you figure more of this out. We’re always happy to chime in and give our insight. It’s one of the things we love about this group.

Sorry I wrote a book!
 

Holiday_Mom

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That requires either that there are other people who know you well enough to spontaneously introduce you to stuff, or you have to start asking/looking around long before you are relying on it to materialize.
I think I understand what you are talking about. I'd like to address both points from above. I'm pretty darn practical when it comes to gifts as in I'll ask for pots and pans to replace the ones that I burn. However, my children (high school, college and beyond) gave me gifts this year that I wouldn't necessarily buy for myself. Each gift came with a reason behind it when I opened it up. It was thoughtful and something new and different and unexpected. It came down to my family listening to me say something and they remembered and surprised me.

One example is my daughter remembering the story of how Starbucks use to sell Gingerbread lattes when they were little ones. I use to get one in December when I would go out to Barnes and Noble perusing children's Christmas books. My daughter went out and bought Starbucks Gingerbread flavored coffee and my other daughter used that coffee a made me a Gingerbread latte with her latte maker. This particular act/gift has opened the door to me trying more coffee flavors. My other daughter brought her Keurig over and we all taste-tested a bunch of K-Cups. The idea was to discover new flavors and brands together.

Another example is listening to my children talk about things and then making notes of it in my planner. Other times it's just plain listening to my children get excited about a topic and making notes about the topic. Then I spend time reading up about the topic and finding products that may be of interest. For Christmas I bought a packable hammock for my daughter to use while camping/hiking or at college. It's the kind that you attach between two trees. A few days after Christmas, my daughter made a comment about how she was really looking forward to using it and that she going to practice setting it up outside. I replied that I was so happy to hear that because I wasn't sure if she was going to like the hammock. My daughter gave me a look and said it was on the suggestion list I asked her to send. I said that it wasn't. She replied that it was. She asked for that specific brand and that specific color. Then she found the email she sent me and couldn't find the hammock on the list at all. My daughter was dumbfounded! How did I know that was the brand and color? I chuckled and said that I actually said a prayer to find that gift. It was the last one I had to buy and I wasn't sure what to get. LOL! So there you go for serendipity! With that said, serendipity was work! I had to do the work of listening and my daughter had to do the work of sharing her life, dreams, joys, etc. with me.

Serendipity in the Winter - After Christmas, we like to plan a family vacation. It's usually to a place where we can hike and/or has some historical significance. I usually learn a lot about myself in the process of planning and traveling and hiking. We've had serendipitous moments on vacation because we let our hearts and hands open to new opportunities.

Do you think keeping a year long list of things that are intriguing to you would help you to find the new direction you are seeking in winter? These can be local to you and/or a traveling distance. Are there places that you wanted to eat at but never have? Are there trails to hike/run/walk that you wanted to do but haven't? Is there a book that you've been thinking about reading but haven't? Do art galleries or science museums hold your interest? Are there any botanical gardens that are nearby? If you find any that you like, then would a yearlong membership be a gift idea? Any other video games that have updates that you'd enjoy?
 

DahliaDoll

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Seeking-wonder ~

One of my special "Christmas moments" happened to me at a Christmas in July craft presentation. I arrived early expecting to be able to get a seat up front, however, I found myself squeezing in a row in about the middle. Being an outgoing person, I asked the woman next to me what crafts she enjoyed doing. We started chatting and haven't stopped since. A craft group we later started going to thought we were sisters, then later someone referred to us as "the twins". We don't look alike, but we are always together. Of course such a special relationship could never be planned or made to happen, but what a gift!

Another special experience happened recently when I called a local ski shop to ask a question about my new skis. The owner of the shop knew exactly what skis I had purchased, what boots I owned, and remembered where I live. He asked if I wondered how he knew all that and said it was because he thought my husband and I are a "cute couple". Just so you know, we are over 70. We were referred to as a "cute couple" by people we were talking to at a lodge we were staying at last year, too. I truly don't know what about us brings on that response, but I do realize that we have a special relationship, and that it is somehow recognized by others that we don't really even know is somehow affirming. It makes me appreciate my husband and the life we have together even more.

I guess I just find "Christmas joy" in the little things all year long. And, as I said, it's probably something you just can't make happen, but you need to be open to recognize the magic when it presents itself.

I hope you find yours all year long!
 

sweetpumkinpye

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Another example is listening to my children talk about things and then making notes of it in my planner.
This is a big one for me. DD is doing ok for herself and has quite expensive tastes in some things. We were talking one day about things when she was younger and she said that she coveted a certain brand of nail polish that was A) quite expensive at the time and B) not available in Australia. I made a note in my diary and for Christmas she got a small box containing a nail file, nail polish remover pads and THREE bottles of the nail polish she was talking about. The look on her face was pure joy. Made my heart proud.
 

seeking_wonder

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Jan 27, 2023
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This additional info is helpful, though again, I believe it all begins within. The motivation to celebrate the way you want has to be internal. I think you've got a start on it by setting electronic reminders and making note of things you enjoyed, things that worked that you want to remember to do again, etc. Here, you'll find links to various plans that include reminders of things to think about as you prepare for the holidays and wrap up post-holiday tasks.

This site has members that post a monthly Rudolph Day list of holiday-related reading, ideas, music, etc. to keep the spirit of Christmas going all year long. You may find inspiration from those posts. Rudolph Day is the 25th of each month. Look for the posts to appear around the 10th of each month, so there's plenty of time to get articles, books, movies, etc., for whatever you want to enoy on Rudolph Day. Rudolph Day posts have their own section on the site, https://magicalholidayhome.com/forum/index.php?forums/rudolph-day.120/, and you may want to visit that page and look at some of the past threads.

As far as hobbies, I took up crochet again last August (after nearly 50 years). It was a mother/daughter gift experience for my DD's 40th birthday. She'd always wanted to learn to crochet from my mom, but distance and my mom's health have prevented it from happening. Our instructor gave us a piece of advice as Christmas was quickly approaching. If you're planning to "gift" your project, you want work on it in the opposite season. That is, don't begin Christmas crafting in November. Instead, work on Christmas gifts over the summer and your Spring and Summer crafts in December. Otherwise you'll be so stressed that your stitiches will become so tight that you can't work the project. You'll rip out and re-do more than you would without the added "deadline" stress.

Perhaps start looking for craft / hobby inspiration now, looking for what gets your juices flowing, and try them out now, so you're ready to work on Christmas gifts this summer. Do you enjoy needlework, like cross-stitch, knitting, crocheting, etc.? Baking and cooking, where you could perfect your recipes during the year? Canning and preserving? Painting (perhaps try a new medium)? Start exploring and trying new things to find a groove that meets your need and spirit.

Hope this helps!

I think you misunderstood the point of the "new hobby"/"new project" part, and its relation to November and the gifts. The idea was not to come up with a Christmas-themed decorating or gift project in November--rather it was to spend the time leading up to Christmas researching new hobbies to get into, so that I would know what items to either ask for or buy myself to be able to dive into the hobby right after Christmas.

Back when I was younger, I used to get things like construction sets for Christmas, and what was special about opening them was the fact that I'd be inspired to create all sorts of things that I didn't create before, either because I couldn't or else because I needed to see new pieces to prompt the idea of making them. This is what I'm looking to recapture. It's also what to me makes things for Christmas different from things I might receive, or buy myself, other times of the year. To me, there is a rhythm where late winter-early spring is time to start entirely new kinds of activities and go in new directions, mid-late spring is to pick up the pace, grow in ability, and develop these "seeds" into new passions, fall is to tie things up and solidify what has been learned, etc. So in later spring or summer I would be mostly buying stuff that helps me with what I'm already working on, not looking for items that will catalyze going off in brand new directions.


Christmas decorating projects is something I DID do this year, I made a Christmas house out of cardboard that I had been already planning to make since the previous Christmas. It wasn't as elaborate as I thought I might make it, but there's always next year to do more. What didn't happen was getting or encountering anything that sparked a new hobby, that got me out of my "rut". Though in addition to not receiving the inspiration from outside, my poor health also played a role, in that there are projects I've been wanting to do for years where I have everything I need yet never get around to doing them. In any case, it's become clear to me if I want external inspiration and gifts that enable me to dabble in new things, I need to arrange that myself, in the sense of very actively "putting feelers out", and in enough time that once I know what I need, it can arrive by Christmas itself.

Missjane: That idea of writing down things when you think of them is definitely one I will be using--along with likely keeping a box for stuff I see somewhere in a store that they might not even still be selling in December,.

Holiday_Mom: That situation with the hammock does sound like some serendipity!

DahliaDoll: That's great what happened to you at the craft fair!

Also something interesting I noticed today--so the high temperature today was the warmest it's been since the new year, in the upper 60s Fahrenheit. On the warmer, sunnier days I've generally been dreading the sun because it feels like time is moving on toward spring when I'm not ready for it yet. But today I decided to go with the flow and go out to the beach in the afternoon. However, when I got there, it was already cooling off and thick fog was coming in. Then the temperature dropped precipitously and this evening was quite cold. This made me notice something. While I'm very glad that this January-February has actually stayed more wintry than last year, when it got very sunny and warm not too long after the start of the new year, there was a degree to which I'd become used to the cold and it had partly ceased to be "special". Having it go from sunny and warmer BACK to cold, though, brought some of that special winter feeling back, though. It made me wonder if it might be nice, if I ever have a friend in the southern hemisphere I can stay with, or a career internship I can do there, to go south for like June-September and have two "yearly cycles" and winters in one year's time, while avoiding the long, dry, brutal summers we're now having due to climate change.
 
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Ahorsesoul

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I think you misunderstood the point of the "new hobby"/"new project" part, and its relation to November and the gifts. The idea was not to come up with a Christmas-themed decorating or gift project in November--rather it was to spend the time leading up to Christmas researching new hobbies to get into, so that I would know what items to either ask for or buy myself to be able to dive into the hobby right after Christmas.
You could try some genealogy if you haven’t yet. It is one of those hobbies that either grabs you and you are hooked for life or you find not interesting Right now but get into later In life. It combines research, being a detective, uncovering secrets and can be very rewarding. You can expand it into scrapbooking, writing stories, traveling and learning history. You can comb cemeteries or learn how to clean tombstones or take photos of the stones and post them for others. Check out FindaGrave site. Family Search website is a good place to start. A lot you can do free but if you get into it family and friends can help buy you subscribtions to Ancestry and other sites. It can just be a hobby or lead to a career field. Can be done alone or with others.

I have uncovered secrets (my mother’s mom, in sweden, had a child before starting our family line that no one in America knew about), met people I would never have in any other field (met online a 92 year old gentleman who told me his family story and shared what his childhood was like), contacted family members that we had lost contact with over time. Give it a try and let me know what you think. Feel free to ask questions.
 
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halimer

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I think you misunderstood the point of the "new hobby"/"new project" part, and its relation to November and the gifts. The idea was not to come up with a Christmas-themed decorating or gift project in November--rather it was to spend the time leading up to Christmas researching new hobbies to get into, so that I would know what items to either ask for or buy myself to be able to dive into the hobby right after Christmas.
But isn't the caveat with this the fact that no matter how much you research a new hobby, and get all the materials for it, when you finally end up doing it you could actually hate it or just discover that you are so bad at it that you don't want to continue.

For example, I've tried very basic spinning, jewelry making and stamping and discovered that I am not very at or enthusiastic for those hobbies. However, I do still scrapbook, knit and crochet. Cross stitching became a bit too hard on my eyes to contiue.
 

Lori K

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I think you misunderstood the point of the "new hobby"/"new project" part, and its relation to November and the gifts. The idea was not to come up with a Christmas-themed decorating or gift project in November--rather it was to spend the time leading up to Christmas researching new hobbies to get into, so that I would know what items to either ask for or buy myself to be able to dive into the hobby right after Christmas.
That was my point. Now is the time to explore what new hobbies/interests might excite you and that you could build into your Christmas prep and gift giving. For example, if i thought I'd enjoy knitting, and told everyone that (without ever trying it), and everyone gave me knitting related gifts, there's risk in that, if I didn't enjoy it, all would be for naught. Now is the time to explore, try it, find what energizes you and makes you happy. And, you can incorporate it into your holidays without the stress of waiting until the Christmas rush. Like my instructor told us, you don't want to have that added stress of finishing homemade gifts on Christmas Eve! By exploring now, you can avoid that added stress and enjoy the craft-related gifts, given and received, on Christmas Day.
 

seeking_wonder

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Jan 27, 2023
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But isn't the caveat with this the fact that no matter how much you research a new hobby, and get all the materials for it, when you finally end up doing it you could actually hate it or just discover that you are so bad at it that you don't want to continue.
That's true--and I think it's part of the issue. I've been so unhealthy for the last few years, there's been so much I wanted to get around to doing all throughout the year that I never did. So new inspiration around Christmas had to/will have to be exceptionally good and well suited to me starting it that I would actually get anywhere.
 
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